Germination Anticipation by Tamra Sunby

January and February occasionally provides a few warm days to plant precious native seeds collected in the fall. Milkweed seed and native wildflower seeds require thirty to sixty days of cold, damp contact with the soil in order to germinate. Last year I planted a variety of native seeds in milk jugs that served as miniature greenhouses with fairly good success.

It is rewarding to share seedlings with friends and family, fellow master naturalists, and give away at our local farmers market.

My goal is to provide more milkweed plants to provide nurseries for Monarch caterpillars and nectar sources for adult Monarch butterflies and wildflowers for hundreds of pollinators.

Tamra Sunby is a retired educator from Monett, and has been a member of the Chert Glades Chapter for 2 years.